Written Answers Wednesday 16 July 2008

Scottish Executive

Alzheimer's Disease

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Medical Research Council regarding the prescribing of antipsychotic medication to people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Executive has had no discussions with the Medical Research Council regarding the prescribing of antipsychotic medication to people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Births, Deaths and Marriages

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-244 by Hugh Henry on 4 June 2003, how many (a) births, (b) births outside marriage, (c) births to teenagers, (d) marriages, (e) civil marriages, (f) divorces and (g) deaths broken down by gender there were in each year since 2000 and what the average (i) age at first marriage and (ii) length of marriage at divorce was in each year.

John Swinney: Almost all the information requested can be found on the website of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The numbers of (a) births, (b) births outside marriage, (d) marriages, (f) divorces and (g) deaths broken down by gender, for each year from 2000 to 2007 (provisional figures), are available from Table P1 of the Registrar General’s "2007 Preliminary Return", which was published on 13 March 2008, and can be found at:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/preliminary-return/2007-preliminary-return.html.

  The other numbers which were requested are available, for 2006 and earlier years, from the Vital Events Reference Tables, which can be found via:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/vital-events/index.html.

  The following table provides the relevant table numbers and the provisional figures for 2007.

  

 
 2006 and Earlier Years - Relevant Vital Events Reference Table
2007 Provisional Figures


 (c) Births to Teenagers
 Table 3.1
 4,304


 (e) Civil Marriages
 Table 7.6
 15,480


 (i) Average Age at First Marriage
 Table 7.3
Men - 32.2 yearsWomen - 30.3 Years


 (ii) Length of Marriage at Divorce
 Table 8.2
 Median - 15 Years 



  The final figures for 2007 will be published on the GROS website in August. As is conventional with such data, the average age at first marriage is given separately for men and for women, and the median is used as an overall summary measure of the "average" length of marriage at divorce.

Concessionary Travel

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth’s evidence to the Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee on 4 December 2007, why it has chosen to redeploy funding for the young persons’ concessionary fares scheme elsewhere ( Official Report , c. 319).

John Swinney: The Young Persons Concessionary Fares Scheme continues to receive sufficient funding to meet all marketing costs and reimbursement payments to participating bus, rail and ferry operators.

Council Tax

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the context of a policy on freezing council tax, any increased costs from servicing additional debt of whatever form for the purpose of securing greater capital spending would have to be met by each local authority’s revenues from reductions in other forms of revenue spending.

John Swinney: A local authority is under a statutory duty to determine and keep under review the maximum amount it can afford to allocate to capital expenditure. This requires a local authority to determine the maximum amount it can afford to borrow, irrespective of the type of borrowing, taking into account all the income streams available to it.

  The Scottish Government has played its part by investing £34.9 billion in local government over the next three years to 2010-11, an increase of 13.1 per cent over the period and includes £70 million of recurring new funding each year to fund a council tax freeze which is the equivalent of a 3.2 per cent increase over the 2007-08 council tax income levels.

Dangerous Dogs

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs have been seized under Section 1 of the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act in each of the last 10 years.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of dogs seized is not held centrally.

Dangerous Dogs

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dogs have been placed on the Index of Exempted Dogs in each of the last 10 years.

Kenny MacAskill: The information given in the following table has been provided from the Index of Exempted Dogs, which is maintained by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  Dogs in Scotland Placed on the Index of Exempted Dogs 1998-2007

  

 Year
 Number


 1998
 0


 1999
 0


 2000
 0


 2001
 0


 2002
 0


 2003
 0


 2004
 0


 2005
 0


 2006
 0


 2007
 3

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive for each year since 2001 how many drug treatment and testing orders were (a) issued and (b) breached and what the re-offending rate was, also broken down by local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) were rolled out in phases between 1999 and 2006. Information on the number of DTTOs and breaches were collected centrally for the first time in 2004.

  Table 1 below shows the number of DTTOs and the number of breaches of DTTOs between 2003-04 and 2006-07 by local authority area. Where the service is provided by a partnership between local authorities, the orders and breaches are counted under the lead local authority.

  The number of breaches may exceed the number of DTTOs in a given financial year as an individual may incur more than one breach per year or a breach may relate to a DTTO which began in the previous year.

  Reconviction rates are derived from the Scottish Offenders Index. Table 2 shows the two year reconviction rates of people sentenced to DTTOs from 2000-01 by approximate local authority area (based on the location of the court at which the offender was sentenced).

  Table 1: Number of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and Breaches of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, 2003-04 to 2006-07.

  

 Local Authority
 Number of Orders
 Number of Breaches


 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Aberdeen City1
 20
 21
 37
 22
 11
 10
 12
 13


 Aberdeenshire1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Angus2
 11
 -
 -
 -
 3
 -
 -
 -


 Argyll and Bute5
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Clackmannanshire
 -
 -
 3
 3
 -
 -
 1
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -
 13
 43
 -
 -
 -
 10


 Dundee City2
 29
 50
 62
 65
 8
 14
 31
 36


 East Ayrshire
 6
 13
 7
 17
 3
 19
 9
 5


 East Dunbartonshire5
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 East Lothian
 -
 -
 7
 7
 -
 -
 2
 -


 East Renfrewshire
 4
 1
 2
 4
 1
 1
 -
 -


 Edinburgh, City of4
 90
 91
 99
 97
 2
 -
 -
 32


 Eilean Siar
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Falkirk
 -
 -
 4
 16
 -
 -
 2
 1


 Fife
 71
 80
 64
 79
 62
 71
 56
 54


 Glasgow City
 74
 88
 100
 94
 26
 20
 38
 23


 Highland1
 -
 -
 -
 14
 -
 -
 -
 9


 Inverclyde
 27
 17
 14
 11
 5
 2
 4
 4


 Midlothian4
 16
 12
 -
 -
 -
 9
 -
 -


 Moray1
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 North Ayrshire
 8
 34
 31
 36
 2
 21
 28
 29


 North Lanarkshire3
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Orkney Islands
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Perth and Kinross2
 12
 -
 -
 -
 2
 -
 -
 -


 Renfrewshire
 36
 29
 20
 15
 9
 18
 3
 14


 Scottish Borders
 -
 -
 8
 7
 -
 -
 -
 1


 Shetland Islands
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 South Ayrshire
 8
 12
 4
 5
 -
 18
 16
 6


 South Lanarkshire3
 -
 78
 66
 69
 -
 -
 17
 47


 Stirling
 -
 -
 2
 3
 -
 -
 -
 2


 West Dunbartonshire5
 -
 -
 6
 45
 -
 -
 2
 1


 West Lothian
 -
 -
 50
 44
 -
 -
 12
 30


 Scotland
 412
 526
 599
 696
 134
 203
 233
 318



  Source: Criminal Justice Social Work Statistical Returns.

  Notes:

  1. Aberdeen City figures included Aberdeenshire in 2004-05 and also Highland and Moray in 2005-06. In 2006-07 Aberdeen City figures included Aberdeenshire and Moray.

  2. From 2004-05, Dundee City figures include Perth and Kinross and Angus.

  3. From 2004-05 South Lanarkshire figures include North Lanarkshire.

  4. From 2005-06, Edinburgh City figures include Midlothian. The number of breaches for Edinburgh City are not available for 2004-05 and 2005-06.

  5. West Dunbartonshire figures include East Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute.

  Table 2: People sentenced to Drug Treatment and Testing Orders by year of sentence and approximate local authority area, 2000-01 to 2004-05

  Percentage Reconvicted within Two Years

  Percentage of People Sentenced to DTTOs Reconvicted within Two Years

  

 Approximate Local Authority Area1
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire2
 n/a
 **
 91
 100
 **


 Angus
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 **
 **


 Argyll and Bute
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Clackmannanshire
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Dumfries and Galloway
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Dundee City
 n/a
 n/a
 **
 100
 100


 East and West Dunbartonshire
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 East Lothian
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire3
 n/a
 n/a
 **
 93
 71


 East, North and South Ayrshire4
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 **
 95


 Edinburgh and Midlothian5
 n/a
 **
 **
 89
 83


 Eilean Siar
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Falkirk
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Fife
 88
 81
 85
 78
 86


 Glasgow City6
 87
 76
 90
 92
 91


 Highland
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Inverclyde
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 89
 **


 Moray
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 North and South Lanarkshire7
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 **


 Orkney Islands
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Perth and Kinross
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 **
 n/a


 Scottish Borders
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Shetland Islands
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 Stirling
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a


 West Lothian
 n/a
 n/a
 n/a
 **
 n/a


 Scotland8
 86
 83
 88
 89
 88



  Source: Scottish Government Scottish Offenders Index.

  Notes:

  1. Approximate areas are based on the court of the offenders index conviction. Some sheriff court boundaries include more than one local authority area.

  2. Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire (Aberdeen, Banff, Stonehaven and Peterhead Sheriff Courts).

  3. Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire (Paisley Sheriff Court).

  4. East, North and South Ayrshire (Kilmarnock and Ayr Sheriff Courts).

  5. City of Edinburgh and Midlothian (Edinburgh Sheriff Court).

  6. Includes the Stipendiary Magistrates court.

  7. North and South Lanarkshire (Airdrie, Hamilton and Lanark Sheriff Courts).

  8. Includes High Court and Remit to High Court.

  9. **Denotes rates based on less than 10 people and not suitable for publication.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the start-up costs were of Scotland Performs.

John Swinney: The start-up costs were £8,948 plus VAT.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual running costs will be for Scotland Performs.

John Swinney: Scotland Performs is updated from data already collected by the Scottish Government. It is a key element of the performance management regime for the Scottish Government and, in time, public services in Scotland. Its costs are contained within that existing function.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it had with Audit Scotland prior to the establishment of Scotland Performs.

John Swinney: Plans for the creation and development of Scotland Performs were discussed with Audit Scotland.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive who will conduct the analysis of Scotland’s performance against the Scottish Government’s Purpose Targets, for use on the Scotland Performs website.

John Swinney: Professional analysts within the Scottish Government will evaluate the latest performance on all targets and indicators against the published criteria.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any external involvement in the analysis of Scotland’s performance against the Scottish Government’s Purpose Targets, for use on the Scotland Performs website.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scotland Performs will be independently monitored and, if so, by whom.

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the need for external involvement in the group chaired by the Director of Corporate Analytical Services which makes the final decisions on the direction of the arrows in Scotland Performs.

John Swinney: The current methodology is transparent and therefore open to independent scrutiny by anyone.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has discussed with Audit Scotland the possibility of the Auditor General for Scotland conducting independent monitoring of Scotland Performs.

John Swinney: This has not been discussed with Audit Scotland

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that annual GDP growth rates calculated on a rolling four quarters on four quarters basis is a reliable method of assessing Scotland’s economic performance.

John Swinney: Annual GDP growth rates are calculated on a rolling four quarters on four quarters basis which provides a reliable method of assessing Scotland’s recent GDP growth performance.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its developed proposals on methodology for the national indicators on Scotland Performs, as referred to on the Scotland Performs website.

John Swinney: The methodology for evaluating the latest change is published on the website and comments on this have been invited. Any improvements to the methodology will be published in due course.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the baseline against which data will be measured for Scotland Performs is set at May 2007 and, if not, at what date the baseline is.

John Swinney: As stated on the website the evaluation of the latest change is based on the latest two relevant data points for a given indicator or target, and these are shown clearly against each one. Baselines for target evaluation are all published in the Technical Notes to the Spending Review. Each is specific to the data source and ties in as closely as possible to May 2007.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the time period for reporting on data changes in respect of Scotland Performs is the same for all national indicators.

John Swinney: The majority of indicators and targets are updated on an annual basis, although some can be updated quarterly. The exact timing for each up-date depends on when data is available. As the majority of indicators are drawn from existing published sources, the publication date for the forthcoming update is pre-announced by the Government Statistical Service in Scotland.

Economy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken any independent advice on the (a) time period of reporting, (b) data used, (c) setting of thresholds and (d) methodological approach taken for the evaluation arrows shown on the Scotland Performs website for the assessment of Scotland’s performance against the Scottish Government’s Purpose Targets.

John Swinney: All such analytical issues have been determined by professional analysts within government, and agreed by the group Chaired by the Director of Corporate Analytical Services. The current methodology is transparent and therefore open to independent scrutiny by anyone.

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed in Dundee in (a) 2000 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by employment sector.

Jim Mather: Information on the number of employee jobs by industry is collected each year from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). Table 1 shows the number of employee jobs in Dundee City by industry sector. The most recent year for which data is available is 2006.

  The reference date for the ABI in the most recent year was changed from December to September so data for 2006 is not directly comparable with data for 2000.

  Table 1: Employee Jobs by Industry, Dundee City, 2000 and 2006

  

 Industry
 2000
 2006


 A: Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry
 *
 *


 B: Fishing
 *
 *


 C: Mining and Quarrying
 *
 *


 D: Manufacturing
 11,100
 8,600


 E: Electricity, Gas and Water Supply
 *
 *


 F: Construction
 3,300
 4,200


 G: Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles, Motorcycles and Personal and Household Goods
 12,500
 13,000


 H: Hotels and Restaurants
 4,300
 4,800


 I: Transport, Storage and Communication
 2,800
 3,000


 J: Financial Intermediation
 2,200
 2,400


 K: Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities
 5,500
 7,800


 L: Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security
 5,400
 4,200


 M: Education
 8,900
 8,100


 N: Health and Social Work
 10,900
 14,000


 O: Other Community, Social and Personal Service Activities
 3,600
 3,800


 P: Private Households with Employed Persons
 *
 *


 Q: Extra-Territorial Organisation and Bodies
 *
 *


 All Industries**
 71,000
 73,900



  Source: Annual Business Inquiry

  Notes:

  1. Data for 2006 is not consistent with previous years.

  2. These data are based on employee jobs rather than people in employment i.e. one person may have more than one job. They do not include self-employed jobs.

  3. Data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

  4. ABI data are workplace based.

  *Data suppressed as confidential.

  **Total for "All Industries" are aggregates from which agriculture class 0100 (1992 SIC) have been excluded.

Energy

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what quality monitoring it intends to introduce to ensure that energy performance certificates are accurate.

Stewart Stevenson: Energy performance certificates (EPCs) for new buildings form a part of the building warrant completion certificate process and the local authorities have responsibility for carrying out the verification work. EPCs for existing buildings will be produced by members of professional institutions who have entered into protocol agreements with the Scottish Government. Every protocol organisation has rules to which their members must adhere.

Enterprise

Jim Hume (South of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has held any discussions with Pringle of Scotland over its proposal to end manufacturing in Hawick.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with management from Pringle of Scotland in Hawick on Wednesday 2 July 2008, two days after the company announced its plans, to discuss the implications of the announcement and see what assistance the Scottish Government could give in order to retain the manufacturing operation in Hawick.

  Officials will remain in close contact during the consultation period.

Fuel Duty

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans it has to assist the (a) police, (b) ambulance, (c) fire and (d) coastguard services with fuel provision in the light of high fuel prices.

Fergus Ewing: Budget setting is an operational matter for the respective services. We work with the police, fire and the ambulance service on an on-going basis to ensure that the highest standards of service delivery are maintained.

  Fuel costs are estimated to account for 0.7% of the police and fire budgets and 3% of the ambulance budget in 2008-09. As such, while we do not underestimate the challenge of managing price increases within existing budgets, they do not represent a threat to service delivery to the extent that government contingency measures are required.

  The Scottish Government has no locus with respect to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency which is an Executive Agency of the Department of Transport.

Inter-Governmental Links

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions since May 2007 (a) ministers and (b) Scottish Government officials have met HM Treasury (i) ministers and (ii) officials.

John Swinney: Between May 2007 and June 2008, Scottish ministers have met with Treasury ministers on five occasions with the last meeting being between the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 1 April.

  During the same period the Scottish Government Finance Director met formally with Treasury officials on seven occasions during the period with the last of these meetings taking place on 29 April. The Director General for Economy met with Treasury officials on two occasions with the latest taking place on 7 March.

  It should be noted that other contact takes place between officials throughout the year to discuss routine operational business on a very frequent basis.

Justice

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been of retailers for selling knives to underage customers in each of the last five years broken down by (a) police board and (b) local authority area.

Fergus Ewing: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish courts for Selling Knives to Underage Persons1 by Police Force Area, 2002-03 to 2006-07.

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


Dumfries and Galloway
-
-
-
1
-


Strathclyde 
1
1
-
-
-


Tayside 
-
1
-
-
-


Scotland
1
2
-
1
-



  Note: 1. Where main offence. Includes offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 section 141A.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selling Knives to Underage Persons1 by Approximate Local Authority Area, 2002-03 to 2006-07

  

 
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Angus 
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -


 East Ayrshire 
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Renfrewshire 
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence. Includes offences under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 section 141A.

  2. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist assistance is available for victims of miscarriages of justice; whether such support extends to relatives of those found to have been wrongly convicted, and whether there are any plans to review the current provisions in the near future.

Kenny MacAskill: We recognise that those who have been a victim of a miscarriage of justice may face particular challenges on their release from custody. That is why the Scottish Government has provided the Miscarriages of Justice (Scotland) Organisation with core funding of more than £245,000 from April 2005 to March 2009 to provide help for victims and their families when it is needed.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any analysis of the effects that miscarriages of justice have on those wrongfully convicted and, if not, whether it plans to in future.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government has not made any such analysis, and has no plans to do so.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been released from prison following wrongful imprisonment in each of the last 10 years.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally. It is possible that a successful appeal could change the length of sentence and not result in a prisoner being released. Information on the total number of appeals is published in Table 5 of the statistical bulletin Criminal Appeal Statistics, Scotland, 2006-07 which can be found on the Scottish Government website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/09/11122246/0.

  The number of cases determined by the High Court and the number of successful appeals following referral is published in the Annual Reports of the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, available at www.sccrc.org.uk. In 2007-08 this information is published in Table 8 and Table 13 respectively.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that victims of miscarriages of justice should receive an official apology following their release from prison.

Kenny MacAskill: It is of course deeply regrettable when anyone suffers as a result of a miscarriage of justice. This is why the Scottish Government operates schemes to fairly compensate such individuals for the effects of a period of wrongful imprisonment. Neither the acceptance of eligibility for either of these schemes, nor the payment of compensation itself should be regarded as an official apology or admission of legal liability.

  The Scottish Ministers make payment out of public funds to victims of miscarriages of justice not because they or their officials are or are treated as wrongdoers, but because such victims are recognised as having suffered what may be a great injury at the hands of the state and it is accepted as just that the state, representing the public at large, should make fair recompense.

Justice

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures of redress a wrongfully-convicted person has following a successful court appeal and whether it has plans to review and extend this provision.

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether wrongfully-convicted persons and their families are entitled to any compensatory payment following release from prison and whether it has plans to review and extend this provision.

Kenny MacAskill: Section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides that the Scottish Ministers shall pay compensation in cases where a conviction is reversed on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice. In addition, ministers may be prepared to make an ex gratia payment of compensation following a wrongful conviction or charge where this has resulted from serious default on the part of a member of a police force or some other public authority. There may also be exceptional circumstances that justify compensation in cases outside these categories.

  In all cases, claims for compensation are considered by the Scottish Ministers following receipt of applications from individuals. If an application is accepted as a valid claim, the amount of compensation paid is determined by an independent assessor. In considering claims, the assessor applies principles analogous to those on which claims for damages arising from civil wrongs are assessed. The assessor also has the power to recommend interim payments to applicants where they provide evidence of immediate need.

  Under the statutory scheme the Scottish Ministers have no power to vary the determination. In ex gratia claims the assessor’s role is strictly to advise ministers of the amount to be paid, but Ministers have agreed to be bound by the assessor’s recommendation.

  We are considering whether to make a minor expansion of the statutory scheme, and to put the ex gratia scheme on a statutory basis. In contrast, the UK Government has recently abolished the ex gratia scheme operated in England and Wales, and section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 will restrict eligibility for the statutory scheme.

  A wrongfully-convicted person may also seek civil damages.

Local Government

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authority single outcome agreements identify year-on-year reductions in business mileage.

John Swinney: Single outcome agreements (SOAs) for 2008-09 have been agreed with all 32 councils and should all now be publically available.

  As councils were responsible for producing the SOAs and are responsible for the delivery of local services, questions regarding the content of individual SOAs should be directed to them in the first instance.

  The SOAs reflect the priorities and agreed outcomes for each council and include relevant supporting indicators and targets.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a local authority which took part in any collective arrangement to issue bonds would be able to decide which projects within its own area would be constructed by such finance, or whether such decisions would be taken elsewhere.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what form of organisation would be needed to issue bonds on behalf of a number of local authorities; what the legal status of such an organisation would be, and to whom it would be accountable.

John Swinney: Discussions about the potential use of bonds will form a key part of the dialogue to be held between the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) and the local government sector after SFT is set up later this summer. Issues such as the matter raised in the question above will form part of that dialogue.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities have powers to incur capital expenditure on matters for which they have no statutory responsibility and where the duty for applying for the finance rests with another statutory body.

John Swinney: Local authorities may only incur expenditure where there is a statutory power to do so.

  In the absence of any specific power, the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) provides local authorities with the "power to advance well-being". Under this power, a local authority may do anything which is likely to promote or improve the well-being of its area and/or the persons within that area.

  There are restrictions placed on this power within the 2003 Act. The power to advance well-being does not enable a local authority to do anything that is expressly prohibited, prevented, restricted or limited by other legislation. The power may not be used in a way that unreasonably duplicates the statutory functions of another body or person. It is for the local authority to consider whether any proposed action is reasonable. It prevents a local authority from raising money by levying any form of tax or charge, by borrowing or otherwise. However, it does not prevent a local authority from continuing to set and determine amounts of council tax or imposing reasonable charges for services provided so long as doing so is not prohibited by existing legislation.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities should use their powers to pursue their own statutory responsibilities before using any powers to assist the statutory functions of other bodies.

John Swinney: Local authorities are obliged by law to meet their statutory responsibilities as set out in relevant legislation. It is for local authorities to prioritise the use of their powers for delivery of their statutory responsibilities and to achieve delivery of local and national outcomes as they see fit.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers a local authority has to apply capital spending within the area of another local authority when the nature of such spending would provide no direct benefit to the residents of its own local authority area.

John Swinney: Local authorities may only incur expenditure where there is a statutory power to do so.

  In the absence of any specific power, the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) provides local authorities with the power to do anything which is likely to promote or improve the well-being of its area and the persons within that area; or either of those. The power may be used in relation to the whole local authority area or any part of that area. Similarly, the power may be used in relation to all or some of the persons within a local authority area. The local authority may use the power outwith its geographical area if it considers doing so is likely to promote or improve the well-being of its own area and/or persons within its area.

  There are restrictions placed on this power within the 2003 act. The power to advance well-being does not enable a local authority to do anything that is expressly prohibited, prevented, restricted or limited by other legislation. The power may not be used in a way that unreasonably duplicates the statutory functions of another body or person. It is for the local authority to consider whether any proposed action is reasonable. It prevents a local authority from raising money by levying any form of tax or charge, by borrowing or otherwise. However, it does not prevent a local authority from continuing to set and determine amounts of council tax or imposing reasonable charges for services provided so long as doing so is not prohibited by existing legislation.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any finance made available by a local authority to another statutory body for the purpose of assisting that body to undertake its statutory functions would be subject to measurement under public capital spending totals at the individual body or Scottish level.

John Swinney: How expenditure is measured and recorded will depend on the type of financial assistance made available and the nature of any data collection. A local authority requires a statutory power to provide financial assistance.

  Where the financial assistance is in the form of a grant then the expenditure would be included as part of the local authority expenditure for the year. For the local authority statutory accounts it would be recorded as capital expenditure if the expenditure met the definition of capital expenditure in accordance with proper accounting practice. If it did not it would be recorded as revenue expenditure of the authority. For National Accounts purposes if the grant was provided to fund the capital expenditure of the other statutory body it would be recorded on the Scottish Government capital return of the local authority as capital expenditure for this purpose. For the HM Treasury Whole of Government Accounts data collection, the local authority is required to identify the recipient of any grant to another public body to enable the data to be consolidated and eliminate double counting of any expenditure.

  Where the financial assistance is in the form of a loan the local authority providing the finance would record the expenditure as a debtor of the local authority. It would not be treated as capital expenditure of the local authority.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when Argyll and Bute Council was first given approval to develop a NPD PPP project.

John Swinney: The council was first given approval to develop their schools NPD project in July 2002.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is planning to create another local authority; for what purpose, and to what advantage.

John Swinney: There are no plans to create another local authority at this time.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers local authorities have to issue bonds for the purpose of directly paying for capital expenditure on projects outwith their local authority area, where the sole beneficiaries of any expenditure are not within their local authority area.

John Swinney: Local authorities have a statutory power to borrow money through the issue of bonds by virtue of the provisions contained within the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975. The purposes for which a local authority may borrow are also detailed in the 1975 act.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers local authorities have to issue bonds for the purpose of directly paying for capital expenditure on projects outwith their local authority area, where the principal beneficiaries of any expenditure are not within their local authority area.

John Swinney: Local authorities have a statutory power to borrow money through the issue of bonds by virtue of the provisions contained within the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975. The purposes for which a local authority may borrow are also detailed in the 1975 act.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers local authorities have to issue bonds for the purpose of directly paying for capital expenditure wholly or in part outwith their local authority area, where their purpose is to be a principal funder for an activity not within their statutory responsibilities.

John Swinney: Local authorities have a statutory power to borrow money through the issue of bonds by virtue of the provisions contained within the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975. The purposes for which a local authority may borrow are also detailed in the 1975 act.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13675 by John Swinney on 9 June 2008, whether there is any limit to how much finance a local authority can raise in order to lend to another local authority.

John Swinney: The Local Government (Scotland) 1975 Act provides a local authority with a power to borrow for the purpose of lending to a "relevant" authority or to any community council established under the area of the local authority, Such borrowing may only be undertaken for purposes for which the relevant authority are authorised by statute to borrow.

  Relevant authorities, being local authorities, are under a statutory duty to determine and keep under review the maximum amount each can afford to allocate to capital expenditure. This requires a relevant local authority to determine the maximum amount it can afford to borrow. A local authority may therefore only borrow a sum to on-lend which is equal to the amount the relevant authority has determined it can afford to allocate to capital, and/or for which it has a statutory borrowing power.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13675 by John Swinney on 9 June 2008, whether any finance borrowed in order to lend to another local authority counts within the affairs of the initial local authority for the purpose of the operation of their prudential borrowing arrangements.

John Swinney: The "Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities" issued by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy requires a local authority to take account of all external debt. However, if part of the external debt of a local authority includes borrowing taken to lend to another local authority, the code requires the local authority to make an adjustment to their net borrowing calculation to reflect this.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13675 by John Swinney on 9 June 2008, whether any finance borrowed by one local authority from another counts within the affairs of the receiving local authority for the purpose of the operation of their prudential borrowing arrangements.

John Swinney: The "Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities" issued by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy defines debt as the sum of borrowing and other long term liabilities. Borrowing refers to all external borrowing as taken from the local authority’s balance sheet. An advance from one local authority will be therefore be debt for the receiving authority.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13675 by John Swinney on 9 June 2008, what advantages accrue to a local authority in borrowing from another for the purpose of financing capital expenditure over borrowings from any other lender or by the direct issue of bonds itself.

John Swinney: It is for each local authority, as corporate bodies, to determine what type of borrowing, and what arrangements for borrowing, offer best value to them.

Local Government

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-13675 by John Swinney on 9 June 2008, whether a local authority issuing bonds or borrowing for the purpose of lending to another local authority would be required to recover the costs involved in raising the finance from the local authority to which it lent the finance.

John Swinney: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 provides that a local authority may lend to another authority on such terms as may be agreed between them.

Police

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers there were on 1 May (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

Kenny MacAskill: Figures on police strength are collected on a whole-time equivalent basis for the Quarterly Strength Return. This is updated on a quarterly basis to reflect returns for 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December in each year. Copies are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 39654 (for 2005-06), 40257 (for 2006-07) and 43307 (for 2007-08)).

Police

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what cash efficiency savings have been sought from police boards for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

John Swinney: Efficiency savings made by the police will contribute to the target set for local government. That is £174.7 million in 2008-09, £349.4 million in 2009-10 and £524.1 million in 2010-11. It will be for local authorities and the police forces to agree the level of efficiencies to be delivered by the police.

Procurement

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what employment practice standards, beyond those set out in employment law, it applies through guidance or contractual provisions to non-governmental organisations providing services funded by government resources.

John Swinney: No additional employment practice standards, beyond those set out in employment law are applied to third sector non-governmental organisations providing services funded by government resources.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when Argyll and Bute Council awarded the contract to start construction of schools under its NPD PPP project.

John Swinney: Argyll and Bute Council’s schools NPD project reached financial close on 9 September 2005.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will permit only NPD PPP projects to proceed in future.

John Swinney: We have not used the "standard UK PFI" model since May 2007. We have made clear that in circumstances where that model would previously have been used, our preference is now for the NPD approach.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the NPD PPP project in Argyll and Bute could have successfully proceeded at local authority level without "level playing field support".

John Swinney: That is a question for Argyll and Bute Council. Subsequent to the schools PPP programme, some councils have embarked on large bundled schools programmes by utilising such funding options as the prudential regime, and capital receipts.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, there will be a contract for the maintenance of the asset for a specified period and what the typical period might be.

John Swinney: The NPD model currently being used in procurements includes contracts for the maintenance of the asset for a specified period. The actual period will depend on each individual project, however, a typical period would be 25 to 30 years.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, who owns the assets created by the capital spending for the period of any contract for the maintenance of the asset.

John Swinney: The NPD model currently being used in procurements typically provides that the land on which the assets are created is owned by the procuring public body, so that when the contract ends the land and assets revert to the public body automatically. Any new proposal which the Scottish Futures Trust might advance in that regard will be considered on its merits at the time.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, where the risks associated with any asset failures lie.

John Swinney: Under Scottish Government guidance relating to value for money assessment, a full assessment of risks and optimal risk allocation for all major projects is required prior to commencement of procurement. A complex risk matrix results from that process. Standard contracts setting out appropriate risk allocations exist to provide a basis for negotiation during each procurement. The current NPD contract includes a detailed payment mechanism which relates contract payments to asset availability and service performance, and failures incur payment deductions.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, who the partners in the partnership will be.

John Swinney: This will depend on the specific circumstances of each individual project. Typically the market is invited to respond to the procurement opportunity by setting out a bid based on the input of consortium partners.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, which elements of profit deriving from the whole project will not be distributed; how that will be determined, and how any such profit will be applied.

John Swinney: Under NPD contracts the delivery company is not able to make any dividend distributions. Surpluses within the company are used according to pre-determined purposes. These arrangements can be customised to suit particular circumstances.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, which elements of the project are likely to, and can legitimately, make profit and whether any such profits will be taken by the providers of those elements of the projects.

John Swinney: Under current NPD procurements contractors which provide assets and services enter competitive bids which include normal profit margins. The funding element will include rates of return commensurate with current market terms. This process provides a "fixed price" contract for asset creation and life-cycle maintenance and services, without the uncapped equity dividends which are a feature of the "standard UK PFI" model favoured by the previous administration.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, under its proposals for NPD PPP projects, what options exist for the raising of the necessary capital finance.

John Swinney: The raising of the necessary capital finance in an NPD PPP project is a matter for the private sector companies involved. It is also possible for the public procuring body to inject capital contributions in order to assist affordability of the project. The Scottish Futures Trust will continue to develop improvements to these funding arrangements and work with the public sector to ensure that any project is able to demonstrate that it has achieved value for money.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, and by what means, capital is raised for the financing of projects where the providers of that finance can expect a profit on their investment.

John Swinney: A return is paid to private investors for all forms of public sector funds raised on the markets (other than funds raised through taxation and other direct receipts). When funds are raised in the market for a project it is consistent with that general approach that the funders are paid a return. What the public sector has to ensure, and be able to demonstrate in any project, is that it has achieved value for money through the efficiency of the procurement method and the price paid for capital and services provided. The Scottish Futures Trust will ensure that the equity gains of the past are no longer a burden on the public purse.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will define the excess profit arising from any element of any form of PPP and how it will control any such profit.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what rate of profit it will consider to be excessive in future and how will it judge this on a case-by-case basis.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it can take within the NPD PPP model to limit profit in regard to any element of a project.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answers to questions S3W-14593 to 14596 on 16 July 2008 which explain our preference for NPD in which excess profits do not arise. All answers to parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of financing the Argyll and Bute NPD PPP project and how that cost compared with any other PPP undertaken over the same time period.

John Swinney: Information regarding the financing of Argyll and Bute Council’s schools NPD project can be found in the final business case which is available from the council. During the procurement, the council received comparative cost information as part of its commercial advice in order to enable it to be satisfied on value for money grounds.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the average difference in the cost of finance between wholly publicly funded and privately funded school construction projects.

John Swinney: Local authorities are responsible for the construction of the public schools estate. Data for schools procured "conventionally" by local authorities is not held centrally by the Scottish Government as affordability and value for money are matters wholly for the local authority concerned.

  The Scottish Government encourages a value for money assessment for all major projects, that ensures also all comparative data is employed. This is important given that market circumstances, construction inflation, project characteristics and the like. can vary markedly between projects as well as over time. An average cost base for comparison purposes would not be meaningful or as accurate as the methodology currently used. Accordingly, the Scottish Government does not hold or use such comparative data on an average basis.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the private sector carrying risk for the building and maintenance of public assets brings any cost disciplines and advantages over more traditional forms of procurement.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government recognises the important role that the private sector can play in public sector infrastructure investment through the value of private sector know-how, delivery expertise and due diligence. However, we think that these benefits can be retained by the public sector but that they can be achieved at lower cost to the taxpayer through the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) initiative.

  We intend to build on the non profit distributing principles pioneered in Scotland for the SFT as this removes the equity element of traditional private finance funding which is the part of the finance that has delivered the largest and most unwarranted profits.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the nature has been of the relationship between its Private Finance Unit and (a) local authorities and (b) private sector construction and finance companies and what advice the unit has provided to these organisations over recent years.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government Financial Partnerships Unit (FPU) has liaised regularly with those local authorities and private sector organisations involved in PPP projects.

  The FPU has provided no formal advice to private sector construction and finance companies.

Public Private Partnerships

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Private Finance Unit has ever been involved in assisting due diligence, in advising on standard contracts and in liaising with private finance providers and construction companies in delivery support for PPP projects, including on NPD PPP projects.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government Financial Partnerships Unit (FPU) has assisted parts of the public sector in carrying out due diligence on project business cases. It has developed and advised on standard contracts. It has provided no formal delivery support to the private sector on PPP or NPD projects. This has included information about a variety of delivery issues, including the NPD model.

Residential Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Medical Research Council regarding the prescribing of antipsychotic medication in care homes.

Shona Robison: The Scottish Executive has had no discussions with the Medical Research Council regarding the prescribing of antipsychotic medication in care homes.

Residential Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring it undertakes of the prescribing of antipsychotic medication in care homes.

Shona Robison: Monitoring of prescribing by GPs, including for patients in care homes who are registered with their practices, is undertaken by prescribing advisers in NHS boards.

Residential Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in care homes across Scotland are presently being prescribed antipsychotic medication.

Shona Robison: It is not possible to provide this information. Prescription data collected centrally do not relate to the number of patients receiving treatment but to numbers and cost of prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

Residential Care

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in care homes were being prescribed antipsychotic medication in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007 and (d) 2008.

Shona Robison: It is not possible to provide this information. Prescription data collected centrally does not relate to the number of patients receiving treatment but to numbers and cost of prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it means by "short term" in relation to the Scottish Futures Trust being unlikely to be a direct funder of capital projects, as referred to in Taking Forward the Scottish Futures Trust.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is an initiative designed to support the efficiency and effectiveness of public infrastructure procurement leading to real and improved value for money solutions. The early work of the SFT will be to provide this support across the public sector framework.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, if the Scottish Futures Trust reaches a stage of being a direct provider of finance or project management and delivery, it will do so as a public or private body.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust’s (SFT) Development and Delivery arm will be a public sector classified body and the Finance and Investment arm will sit within the private sector.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in any form, the Scottish Futures Trust will take decisions about which projects it will support, and to whom it will be accountable for such decisions.

John Swinney: Projects to be supported by the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) company will be a matter for SFT itself to consider once it is set up, within policies and guidance issued by Scottish Government. The SFT will be accountable through ministers.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the statements on page 7 of Taking Forward the Scottish Futures Trust are materially correct in every respect.

John Swinney: Yes.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the VAT status will be of the Scottish Futures Trust in any form and what the implications will be of such status.

John Swinney: The VAT status of the Scottish Futures Trust will be for HM Revenue and Customs to determine. The implications of compliance with UK fiscal policies are generally financial.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it means by each Scottish Futures Trust being a developer, deliverer and supporter of individual programmes.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) will be one organisation with two arms to it – SFT Delivery and Development, and SFT Finance and Investment. A key role for SFT will be to strengthen public sector capability in infrastructure planning, procurement and delivery through the provision of expertise and financial resources which are focused on best value outcomes, both at the level of individual projects and procurements and also at the level of entire public sector programmes of investment.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects the Scottish Futures Trust to manage and deliver any particular construction programmes and, if so, when it is envisaged that the first programme will be completed.

John Swinney: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) will set out its activities and priorities in an operational plan as soon as possible following its establishment.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much risk capital it envisages the Scottish Futures Trust having at its disposal and where such capital will come from.

John Swinney: This will be a matter for the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) company to consider once it is set up, primarily in the context of the planning for SFT Finance and Investment.

Scottish Futures Trust

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed legal status will be of any infrastructure investment board, as set out in Taking Forward the Scottish Futures Trust .

John Swinney: The establishment of an infrastructure board for Scotland is a proposal to be discussed with various stakeholders. It is not essential for it to have corporate legal form, but such details will be considered as part of the next stage of the Scottish Futures Trust implementation.

Scottish Government Buildings

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for year-on-year reduction of waste from its buildings.

John Swinney: In December 2007 the Scottish Government announced new targets for tackling wastes arising in its own buildings:

  To reduce total wastes arising by 10 percent by 2011, relative to a baseline of 2006-07.

  To reduce total wastes arising by 25 percent by 2020, relative to a baseline of 2006-07.

  The Scottish Government has not set targets for year-on-year reductions.

Scottish Government Funding

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds have been provided to each area data sharing partnership (a) in 2006-07, (b) in 2007-08 and (c) will be provided in 2008-09.

John Swinney: The funding allocations to support area data sharing partnerships is set out in the following table:

  

 Partnership
 2006-07
 2007-08
2008-09 (Proposed)
 Total


 Ayrshire and Arran
£59,210
£150,000
£50,000
£259,210


 Borders
£125,000
£142,550
£50,000
£317,550


 Dumfries and Galloway
£124,000
£150,000
£50,000
£324,000


 Fife
£112,500
£150,000
£50,000
£312,000


 Forth Valley
£141,000
£143,373
£50,000
£334,373


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
£150,000
£290,000
£100,000
£540,000


 Highland
£147,750
£143,708
£50,000
£341,458


 Lanarkshire
£150,000
£150,000
£50,000
£350,000


 Lothian
£50,000
£150,000
£50,000
£250,000


 Orkney
£145,200
£150,000
£50,000
£345,200


 Grampian
£74,150
£139,073
£50,000
£263,223


 Shetland
£96,800
£150,000
£50,000
£296,800


 Tayside
£164,000
£185,000
£50,000
£399,000


 Western Isles
£50,000
£135,129
£50,000
£235,129



  In 2006-07 and 2007-08 funding to support area data sharing partnerships was provided as part of the ring-fenced Efficient Government Fund. From 2008-09, a small residual sum for area data sharing partnerships to fund the post of a data sharing manager, will continue to be paid out as specific grant, and the remaining funding along with the rest of the Efficient Government Fund has been rolled up in the general block grant allocations to local authorities.

  This change in the funding arrangements for 2008-09 is part of the package of measures that accompany the concordat and the greater financial freedoms resulting from the new partnership between the Scottish Government and local government.

  The vast majority of the funding allocated by the Scottish Government to local government from 2008-09 will be provided by means of a block grant. This means an end to micro-management and recognition that it is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local outcomes including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and other priority commitments.

Scottish Government Staff

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of work-related stress have been reported by its employees; how much compensation has been paid to employees; how many work days have been lost due to work-related stress and at what cost, and what procedures have been put in place to reduce work-related stress and at what cost.

John Swinney: For Scottish Government main employees (the core Scottish Government and certain agencies and associated departments) sick absence records capture only stress as a reason for absence. Scottish Government records do not capture the assessed reasons for stress-related illness. This is not generally provided on medical certificates completed by general medical practitioners.

  No compensation has been paid to Scottish Government staff for stress-related absences.

  The total number of days employees within Scottish Government main reported stress-related absences during 2007-08 was 2,921 at a cost of £327,000.

  Within Scottish Government main employees are provided with opportunities under the Healthy Working Lives scheme to participate in a range of health related activities that promote good physical and mental health well being. The 2008-09 budget available to fund these activities is £50,000.

Unemployment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many, and what percentage of, people were claiming unemployment-related benefits in each council ward in Dundee City Council at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jim Mather: The claimant count gives the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits and is produced by the Office for National Statistics.

  Table 1 shows the number of unemployed people claiming unemployment related benefits in each council ward in Dundee City Council and also the number of unemployed people as a proportion of the resident working-age population in each ward. The latest data available are for May 2008.

  Table 1: Claimant Count Unemployment for Wards in Dundee City, May 2008

  % of Resident Working-Age Population who are Unemployed

  

Ward
Total Claimants
 


Ardler
85
4.1%


Balgay
75
2.5%


Balgillo
28
0.7%


Balgowan
141
4.2%


Barnhill
39
1.4%


Baxter Park
104
3.3%


Bowbridge
151
5.3%


Brackens
122
3.5%


Broughty Ferry
34
1.2%


Camperdown
154
4.9%


Claverhouse
95
3.1%


Craigiebank
61
2.8%


Douglas
185
5.8%


East Port
139
4.3%


Fairmuir
116
4.4%


Hilltown
190
5.3%


Law
149
4.3%


Lochee East
121
4.7%


Lochee West
149
6.0%


Logie
79
2.6%


Longhaugh
197
5.5%


Ninewells
117
3.7%


Pitkerro
214
6.4%


Riverside
31
0.9%


Stobswell
178
6.2%


Strathmartine
71
2.4%


Tay Bridges
117
2.2%


West Ferry
19
0.7%


Whitfield
138
6.0%


Dundee City
3,299
3.7%



  Source: Office for National Statistics.

Unemployment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, people were long-term unemployed in each council ward in Dundee City Council at the most recent date for which figures are available.

Jim Mather: The claimant count gives the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits and is produced by the Office for National Statistics.

  Table 1 shows the number of long-term unemployed people claiming unemployment related benefits in each council ward in Dundee City Council and also the long-term unemployed as a proportion of the resident working-age population and as a proportion of total unemployment in each ward.

  Long-term unemployed are defined as those claiming unemployment related benefits for over 12 months. The latest data available are for May 2008.

  Table 1: Claimant Count Unemployment for Wards in Dundee City, May 2008

  

 Ward
 Number of Long-Term Unemployed
 % of Resident Working-Age Population who are Long-Term Unemployed
 Long-Term Unemployed as % of Total Unemployment


 Ardler
 15
 0.6%
 17.6%


 Balgay
 5
 0.2%
 6.7%


 Balgillo
 *
 *
 *


 Balgowan
 10
 0.4%
 7.1%


 Barnhill
 5
 0.1%
 12.8%


 Baxter Park
 15
 0.4%
 14.4%


 Bowbridge
 20
 0.7%
 13.2%


 Brackens
 15
 0.4%
 12.3%


 Broughty Ferry
 *
 *
 *


 Camperdown
 10
 0.4%
 6.5%


 Claverhouse
 10
 0.3%
 10.5%


 Craigiebank
 10
 0.5%
 16.4%


 Douglas
 25
 0.8%
 13.5%


 East Port
 25
 0.7%
 18.0%


 Fairmuir
 20
 0.7%
 17.2%


 Hilltown
 20
 0.6%
 10.5%


 Law
 20
 0.6%
 13.4%


 Lochee East
 15
 0.6%
 12.4%


 Lochee West
 20
 0.7%
 13.4%


 Logie
 10
 0.4%
 12.7%


 Longhaugh
 25
 0.7%
 12.7%


 Ninewells
 10
 0.4%
 8.5%


 Pitkerro
 25
 0.7%
 11.7%


 Riverside
 5
 0.1%
 16.1%


 Stobswell
 25
 0.9%
 14.0%


 Strathmartine
 5
 0.2%
 7.0%


 Tay Bridges
 15
 0.3%
 12.8%


 West Ferry
 *
 *
 *


 Whitfield
 20
 1.0%
 14.5%


 Dundee City
 400
 0.4%
 12.1%



  Source: Office for National Statistics

  * Data suppressed due to small numbers.

  Notes:

  1. Long-term unemployed defined as those claiming for over 12 months.

  2. Data on number of long-term unemployed rounded to the nearest five.

Volunteering

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to unlock the potential of volunteering in Scotland, in light of the statement in Government Economic Strategy that volunteers have a part to play in the future prosperity of the nation, and how the Scottish Government plans to maximise the impact of volunteering in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

John Swinney: We are committed to ensuring that the third sector, which includes for example, volunteering, voluntary organisations and social enterprises, plays a central part in our overarching purpose to create a successful country where all can flourish.

  Our commitment to the third sector is underpinned by a funding package worth £93.6 million over the three year period 2008-11 to support development and capacity building in the sector. This represents an increase of 37% and an unprecedented level of support.

  We have maintained our investment in volunteer centres which exist in every local authority area and in the national centre of excellence provided by Volunteer Development Scotland. We have invited the volunteer centres to work closely with other third sector intermediary bodies to ensure that the third sector plays its full part in developing and delivering the single outcome agreements through community planning partnerships.

  The role of volunteering is explicitly recognised in many aspects of policy. For example, based on recommendations in a report commissioned by the NHS in Scotland from Volunteer Development Scotland, we recently launched the Volunteering in NHS Lothian – A Framework for Action (2008-2011) to build on current success, maximise the benefit volunteers bring to improving health and wellbeing and improve the engagement of volunteers.

  Overall, we recognise that the volunteer is an essential element of every vibrant community but is often far removed from the formal structures of volunteering. We will continue to look for ways to help the volunteer make a strong contribution.

Young Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of its decisions to end the temporary and emergency incarceration of children in prisons, what additional funds it has made available to local authorities to meet the expected £9 million new costs to place these children in secure places other than prison.

Fergus Ewing: Following the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice of his intention to abolish unruly certificates, the Scottish Government is currently consulting on the potential impact of this, and on alternative methods of dealing with this small, but challenging, group of young people. Financial implications will be considered as part of the response to this consultation.

Young Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were sent to England in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 to be securely accommodated and receive appropriate services.

Fergus Ewing: The information requested is not held centrally.

  The placing of children and young people to secure accommodation through the Children’s Hearing system is a matter for the local authority concerned. Only in exceptional circumstances would a young person be placed in secure accommodation in England. Scottish ministers’ powers to place sentenced children in secure accommodation apply only to Scotland.

Young Offenders

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average occupancy rate was of secure accommodation units in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007.

Fergus Ewing: The average occupancy rate of the secure accommodation estate was 89 per cent in the year 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 and 90 per cent in the year 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.